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Dowe Flats Quarry Site Description and Future Mining Impact Analysis <br /> • Active mining <br /> • Haul roads and access roads <br /> • Equipment staging, fueling, and maintenance <br /> • Crushing and stockpiling <br /> • Office facilities <br /> • Conveyor system <br /> • Overburden stockpiles (temporarily reclaimed) <br /> • Growth media stockpiles (temporarily reclaimed) <br /> • Reclamation in progress (backfilling) <br /> • Reclaimed vegetation communities <br /> • Undisturbed vegetation communities <br /> • Irrigation ditches <br /> 2.S Vegetation Communities <br /> The vegetation communities present in the permit area include reclaimed vegetation <br /> communities in previously mined areas,undisturbed native communities, and pastures improved <br /> for grazing and/or hay production. No activities proposed in the permit amendment application <br /> will have new impacts on these communities. <br /> 2.8.1 Reclaimed Grassland <br /> Over 158 acres on the Dowe Flats property have been reclaimed over the past 23 years using <br /> approved native seed mixtures. For the past 10 years, CEMEX, Inc. has conducted annual <br /> vegetation monitoring of these areas including quantitative evaluations of vegetation cover and <br /> species diversity. These data have been compared to a reference vegetation community in the <br /> Partition Agreement Lease buffer area just west of the Dowe Flats property boundary. In 2021, <br /> total vegetation cover on the reclaimed areas averaged 55.6% compared in 50% on the reference <br /> area. Desirable species cover(native species as well as cultivated species commonly used in <br /> improved pasture plantings)on the reclaimed areas was 50.3% compared to only 36% on the <br /> reference. A total of 46 species (33 desirable and 13 undesirable) were observed along the <br /> transects in the reclaimed areas. This compared well to 44 species(32 desirable and 12 <br /> undesirable) on the reference area. <br /> The most common species,present on more than half of the transects included eight desirable <br /> perennial grasses, one native annual forb, one undesirable annual grass, three undesirable annual <br /> forbs, and one undesirable perennial forb(Table 1). Several patches within the reclaimed areas <br /> have been planted with shrubs to improve the stand structure and habitat diversity. These patches <br /> are dominated by fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) and rubber rabbitbrush(Ericameria <br /> nauseosa). <br /> 2.8.2 Temporary Reclamation <br /> Temporary reclamation is another major vegetation community within the Dowe Flats property <br /> that includes overburden stockpiles, growth media stockpiles, and the area around the conveyor <br /> system. These areas typically exhibit similar vegetation cover to the reclaimed grassland <br /> vegetation described above but were sometimes seeded with a less diverse seed mixture in <br /> anticipation of being re-disturbed. <br /> Habitat Management, Inc. '4 May 2, 2022 <br />